Phew! A lot has happened the past few months so for this blog entry I am just going to start from the beginning and move forward from there….

Last July I ran into a one of my old training partners as I was going to the bank to make a deposit. We started chatting… you know the usual “hey what’s up, what have you been up to…” conversation and we both realized that all we were doing was working and not having much fun so I said, “hey, why don’t we start training together again and jump into the Contra Costa Classic next year?” We agreed to train together and that’s how I got back into competing after I told everyone I was done for good in 2008. 🙂

Once I had mentally committed to the Contra I thought, well heck, why not get serious and jump on stage and compete for the title of Mr. California the following week. My goal in getting back on stage was not necessarily to win; I wanted to get back into the best shape of my life – I wanted to be in even better shape than I was while playing for the Fresno State Bulldogs. I also set a goal of earning a top ten placing at a National Level competition by 2012. In order to accomplish this I felt I needed a team, a coach. I could remember Fresno State’s head coach screaming in 115 degree weather “coaches coach and players play”; Even Michael Jordan had Phil Jackson, so I showed up at my friend and mentor Kris Dim’s personal training studio and told him everything I wanted to do and he offered to help. He helped me out a lot. I was eating way too many carbs and not enough protein… hey I didn’t earn the nickname “cookie monster” for nothing! LOL 🙂

It was around this time that Kris Dim became even more popular than he was before, earning another trip to the Olympia and began appearing in Optimum Nutrition ads around the world. In talking to him one day he came to me and explained that due to all his recent success he wouldn’t be able to continue to put 100% into me and wouldn’t give anything less to a friend so in the interest of our friendship he referred me to his fellow Optimum Nutrition teammate, IFBB Pro and GURU, George Farah. At the time, I didn’t know much about these so-called Guru’s but Kris and I talked and went over all of them and decided working with George would be the best fit for me – Kris knew we’d work well together; and we do. Thanks Kris!

I’ve worked with George for three months now and we have gotten very close. He calls me “his boy” and “his little brother” and he is definitely like a big brother to me. George doesn’t just work with anyone. In fact at the time he took me on he wasn’t even accepting anymore clients but on Kris’ recommendation he took me on and we haven’t looked back since! With my work ethic, being a person who is very coachable, willing to learn, and picks up things very quickly, I have literally improved every week, in more ways than one under his guidance. I accomplished more in a few months than I expected to accomplish in two years.

The first show I did was the Contra Costa Classic (one of the toughest competitions in California – which is one of the toughest states to compete in) I was the first runner up which qualified me to compete at the National Level for my Pro Card! (the top two in each weight class at a national qualifying event are qualified to compete at the national level/for their Pro Card for one year without having to re-qualify) It was a controversial second at that. Many thought I should have taken the overall title. But that is in the past and I moved on to the California State Championships in Culver City the following week.

For the second week in a row I re-qualified as the first runner up in my class in one of the most competitive shows in the golden state. I was a little disappointed because I wanted to improve to first however I was still very happy due to the fact that I improved and qualified for Nationals two weeks in a row! On top of that I was asked to go back to Southern California and do a photo shoot at Gold’s Gym Venice, the “Mecca” of bodybuilding the following Thursday. That was an incredible experience that I will never forget. The photos should be published soon so keep an eye out. I will update everyone when they are.

The day after the California State Bodybuilding championships I was back on a plane headed to Canada for my second photo shoot with MuscleTech. The shoot was awesome and everyone was all smiles and laughs because my photos came out great. I just got word from MuscleTech that my photos will be used in their ads! MuscleTech has treated me with first class professionalism the whole way and I look forward to continuing our relationship now and in the future. Thanks guys!

After the Cal State, George and I were talking and he said, “I want you to do the Rochester and the Jr. Nationals brother”. My response: “whatever you say bro, coaches coach, players play” and I was having fun playing my game so I said lets do it! This would put me at four competitions in five weeks but I knew I had the stamina and the support team in Elite In-Home Personal Training, MuscleTech, George, and the fans to help me get through and improve at each of my next two stops. On the flip side, there were a lot of people who started to question whether or not I could still make improvements, stay healthy, compete at such a high level, and stay so lean for so long. It was a valid concern; I was 2-4% body fat for at least six weeks. I will say however, that these people (some might use the term haters) motivated me as well, so a big thanks goes out to all of you as well! And today I feel as good and as healthy as ever!

I placed third at the 56th annual Rochester Bodybuilding, Fitness, Figure, and Bikini Championships in New York two weeks after The California State Championships. This is the oldest running National Qualifier in the US – and the most Competitive. It is judged exclusively by NPC National Judges and IFBB PRO Judges. This show has produced over 22 Professional Bodybuilders alone! This show is done by competitors who are serious about going to the next level and turning pro and this is where you go to be judged by the same people who will judge you on the national and professional stage. Feedback from the judges at this show is a must. They will let you know if you have what it takes or not. Thankfully I was told to keep doing what I am doing and to go ahead and make the jump to the National stage the following week at Jr. Nationals! Another awesome thing happened the day before the contest; I was invited to do a video shoot with Muscular Development TV the day before the Rochester. It was super fun and there were fans who saw the video before me and approached me the next day at the Rochester and said it was a nice piece. You can view it here —> http://mdtv.musculardevelopment.com/contests/250-2010-npc-rochester-championships/3028-malcolm-tears-ii-1-day-out-from-the-npc-rochester.html

So wow, now I was headed to Chicago for Jr. Nationals. At the beginning of this entry I said one of my goals was place in the top ten at a national level competition by 2010. In going to this show my goal was to just place; after all I gave myself two years to place in the top ten right? At National Level shows only the top 15 are placed and so that was my goal. Everyone who places 16th and below aren’t even placed. They are given a nice handshake and told to go home and try again.

When I arrived in Chicago and weighed in Thursday at early weigh-ins I didn’t make weight! I was over by three pounds and had until Friday morning at 9am to make weight at final weigh-ins. If I didn’t make weight I would have had to compete as the smallest heavyweight – not a formula for success! No way was I going to let that happen! I called George to find out what I should do and…. his phone was OFF!!!! He was still on the plane flying to Chicago. I was lost. So I had to relax and just to think clearly and solve this problem on my own. I threw a bunch of sweats on and jumped on the treadmill and went to work. I had to make weight. I went to my room and laid down so I could hopefully get my body to relax enough to take the fluids from my muscles to my bladder so I could get it out my system and make weight. I fell asleep due to exhaustion and woke up with twenty minutes left before the scales closed. I ran down to where weigh ins were taking place and saw George. “George I didn’t make weight!” I said as I was rushing to get to weigh-ins. “Calm down brother you’ll be fine”, he said as he walked away. I just looked at him like he was crazy. “Don’t worry, you’ll wake up tomorrow weighing 195”. It was at this point that I was convinced that George was absolutely insane. There was no way in the world I was just going to go to sleep and wake up seven pounds lighter! So I went to weigh anyway. Bam. 198.25 on the dot. I made weight. I came back out and saw George – “I made weight!” he said, “Good now go rest.” I went back up to my hotel room and was out like a light. The next day I woke up and guess what??? LOL. I weighed 195.8!! George called it! LOL.

Ok so Friday was a breeze. I ate all day and night and was in bed by about 9pm. At about 11pm I woke up because someone was knocking on my door talking about “room service” in a high pitched feminine tone of voice, obviously playing and laughing at the same time. I woke up and was thinking, “what the hell…?” It was George coming to check on me! He had me hit a few poses. I was on. I said to him, “dude I think I might make top ten looking like this” and George responded with, “ha ha are you kidding? Top ten? You are looking better than ever bro! You will do way better than top ten!” Then he turned around and left. That was a nice thought to go to sleep on.

Saturday morning I woke up and contacted George like he told me to do and he had me come to his room for one final look. He took a look at me and said “brother you’re by far at your best yet…” He looked me in the eye and very seriously said, “keep everything the same, just do what I told you.” By him telling me that I knew I was spot on. Thoughts of top 5 were dancing around in my mind. I left his room and was smiling all day!

8:30am. Prejudging came and went. It was a little strange how they did the callouts but as soon as I got off stage George sent me a text confirming what I and everyone else there saw… “At Least Top Six Bro!” And that’s it. I took sixth in the most competitive and largest class at the 25th Annual Jr. National Championships. The top three finishers all scored perfect scores and there was only an average of one point separating fourth, fifth, and sixth place!

So the most common questions that I get asked now are: what’s in store for the rest of 2010, what are you going to do for 2011, and “WHEN IS YOUR NEXT SHOW?”

As for 2010, Elite In-Home Personal Training and I have a lot going on: we have a number of incredible before and after videos, photos, and testimonial letters from our clients that we will be releasing soon and have a number of photo and video shoots scheduled and in the works.

For 2011….? My response to that question is… “Keep in touch. It will be fine. Just wait and see brother…! LOL!”🙂

AS FOR MY NEXT SHOW….. FOLKS!!!! ITS ONLY BEEN A FEW DAYS… LET IT MARINATE A LITTLE🙂 I WILL ANNOUNCE THAT INFO VERY SOON!🙂